Cauley-Stein’s putback dunk lifts Kings past Pacers 111-110

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(Getty Images file photo)

Cauley-Stein’s putback dunk lifts Kings past Pacers 111-110

(Getty Images file photo)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Sacramento Kings have already established themselves as a fairly solid offensive team this season with their quick-paced scoring attack.

Every now and then, they show signs of being pretty good on defense, too.

Willie Cauley-Stein scored on a putback dunk with 16.1 seconds left, Sacramento held Indiana to one bucket over the final 3 minutes and the Kings held on to beat the Pacers 111-110 on Saturday night.

“At the end of the game we were able get the stops that we needed, Willie made a big play and we got another stop,” Kings guard De’Aaron Fox said. “That’s all it comes down to. When we’re able to buckle down and get stops when we need them, we put ourselves in pretty good shape.”

Bogdan Bogdanovic had 20 points and Cauley-Stein finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds to help the Kings end a four-game losing streak to the Pacers. Buddy Hield added 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Both teams exchanged leads throughout the game until Sacramento closed the fourth quarter on an 8-3 run capped by Cauley-Stein’s dunk.

Darren Collison made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:12 remaining to put Indiana up 110-107. Fox followed with a steal and layup to pull Sacramento within one. After a turnover, Fox missed a short jumper that Cauley-Stein caught and jammed back in for the game-winner.

“I just trusted the play,” Cauley-Stein said. “Shaking through gave me that position on the back side to where I was able to make a play on a missed shot. I thought it was going in, to be real. It was one of those things where I need this, we need this.”

Indiana had multiple chances to win but Bojan Bogdanovic and Collison both missed jumpers in the final 15 seconds.

“We turned the ball over way too much,” Collison said. “We didn’t necessarily keep things simple. We have to be precise in everything you do. You have to be strong with the ball and it’s something we didn’t do, including myself.”

The Pacers trailed early in the fourth quarter then went ahead after Domantas Sabonis and Doug McDermott combined for 12 consecutive points capped by McDermott’s driving layup.

Sacramento took over after that and outscored Indiana 8-3 while holding the Pacers to 1 of 9 shooting down the stretch

“There were some stretches where some things didn’t go well for us, made some mistakes, but we kept coming and we were relentless,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “We got some stops at the end, which was critical.”

TIP-INS

Pacers: Former Kings first-round draft pick Tyreke Evans had 12 points and four assists while starting in place of Oladipo. … Indiana hadn’t lost to Sacramento since Jan. 23, 2016. . The Pacers had a season-high 24 turnovers, six in the fourth quarter.

Kings: Rookie Marvin Bagley III missed his first game of the season because of back spasms. The second overall pick is averaging 13 points and 6.8 rebounds while coming off the bench in Sacramento’s first 21 games. … Hield and Iman Shumpert were both called for technical fouls. … Kosta Koufas had seven rebounds in 15 minutes in his return after missing eight games with a calf strain.

IT’S NOT SMITH VS. SMITH

Bogdan Bogdanovic is from Belgrade, Serbia, and Bojan Bogdanovic is from Mostar, Croatia. and the two are not related.

Both wound up having big games.

“He won in points, I won the game,” Bogdan Bogdanovic joked afterward. “Both of the Bogdanovic’s are great players. We are just different. He is a better scorer, I am more about getting my players (going) and getting better plays.”

UP NEXT

Pacers: Return to Indiana to host Dallas on Tuesday.

Kings: Begin a four-game road trip at Phoenix on Tuesday.

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